Mass Effect?

[Det. Bart Lasiter]

The thorian was one example. The conduit is another.

the reaper line about "all biological life being a genetic mutation"

was quite possibly the dumbest thing I've ever heard. The location of the conduit. The list goes on and on.

 

And I understand that most people probably didn't spend too much time thinking about it. That's fine. But I don't think we can call it "great writing" if it doesn't hold up to scrutiny.

 

 

 

Noted.

 

god did it, shuttup

[SpaceAlex]

Funny, I thought the point of the thread was to offer opinions for someone who wasn't sure about buying the game. I guess I didn't get the memo.

 

Oh, you certainly did; I apparently didn't.

 

Anyway, I was talking about people who already played the game. Sorry about the confusion.

 

That's one explanation. There are others.

 

I have little doubt.

 

You seem to be missing the part where he asked for opinions because he wasn't sure whether or not to buy it in the first place. It seems he's "wary" of buying something he might not enjoy.

 

As I and a few others have stated, if he's serious roleplayer looking for a well-written game, this is not it. If he's just looking for something to do, then he should pick it up.

 

Fair enough.

 

Alternative hypothesis: When you market yourself as a "good writer" and "critics" don't contradict you, there's a good chance that large numbers of young people will believe that your product is what "good writing" looks like.

 

I can go with that... of course, not only young people are liking it, but alright.

 

But to be totally serious, they started "marketing themselves" as good writers after the release and success of BG2 (which was actually a very good game). It was a clever strategy, seeing as how they even had the support of the most hardcore RPG fans at the time who helped in building up their fanbase, along with game critics and everyone else.

 

After that, it was a simple matter of bringing up BG2 every time they were talking about their new games, which brought them new fans who were led to believe (by both Bioware and the already existing fanbase) they were getting an A+ title, which made the whole process of suspending disbelief very easy. A form of brain-washing, sort of

 

 

Oh, I was perhaps not being totally serious after all.

 

 

Also, here's what Mass Effect Wiki has to say about the Thorian:

 

Commander Shepard first hears of the Thorian from Lizbeth Baynham, who tentatively suggests that it might be why the geth are attacking the colonists on Feros. Shepard can learn more from the ExoGeni VI; once freed from the Thorian, Shiala then tells Shepard its history.

 

According to Shiala, the Thorian existed on Feros long before the Protheans arrived. It would spend thousands of years in hibernation, then awake for "a few frantic centuries" of activity before resting again. When the Protheans arrived and began building the metropolis that would eventually cover Feros, the curious Thorian studied them, likely made several of them into its thralls, and even absorbed them after they died, allowing them to become a part of its expanding consciousness.

 

From the Protheans, the Thorian's mind gradually absorbed the knowledge that would form the Cipher. The Thorian survived the cataclysm that destroyed the Protheans, and continued to grow across Feros for the next fifty thousand years.

 

Makes sense or not?

 

I admit it's been quite a while since I played ME, so I don't really know much about the whole Thorian thing. All I can remember is that it didn't seem to bother me, but I wasn't really paying much attention (the story wasn't exactly my cup of tea, so to speak).

 

Meh, I'd not really thought to much about the Thorian, I thought it was naff, it producing clones on me, I thought especially stupid.

 

Schmucks need love too.

 

 

Anyway, I think we all need to lighten up a little. It's getting quite stuffy in here.

[Achilles]

While I'm not a fan of BioWare's writing, especially in its latest incarnations (though my love of KotOR and Baldur's Gate II may, I admit, stem from its presentation in Glorious Rose-Tinted Glasses) I feel your criticism may miss the mark somewhat.

 

Quite possibly. I can only tell you that I felt the story missed on many levels. I will also tell you that when I catch a writer doing something where it's obvious that they are counting on my stupidity, I find it hard to accept that they respect their audience. I don't reward this lack of respect with praise.

 

But to be totally serious, they started "marketing themselves" as good writers after the release and success of BG2 (which was actually a very good game). It was a clever strategy, seeing as how they even had the support of the most hardcore RPG fans at the time who helped in building up their fanbase, along with game critics and everyone else.

 

Fair enough. My first exposure to Bioware was KotOR. I later played Baldur's Gate, but wasn't exactly blown away by it. After playing TSL, I found myself unable to play the original because the writing suddenly seemed incredibly sophomoric. After many recommendations, I tried ME. When I found the same calibur of writing there (same writer and producer), I pretty much decided that I was finished with BioWare games. Perhaps someday I'll play something not written by Drew Karpyshyn and will have to revisit my opinion, but I won't touch anything with his name on it.

 

I appreciate you following up and I'm glad that the source of our miscommunication was identified and dealt with.

[SpaceAlex]

Fair enough. My first exposure to Bioware was KotOR. I later played Baldur's Gate, but wasn't exactly blown away by it. After playing TSL, I found myself unable to play the original because the writing suddenly seemed incredibly sophomoric.

 

Quite agreed. Although there are certain aspects of K1 that I like quite a bit (Korriban, Jolee, Canderous, HK [excellent voice acting being the biggest reason]...), I can't stand Malak (do I really need to explain why?) or the ending. Even in its unfinished state, I liked K2's ending better; and I've got Kreia to thank for that (finally a Sith Lord that doesn't want to rule the galaxy and has an IQ above 60, lolz).

 

Sorry for the OT.

 

I appreciate you following up and I'm glad that the source of our miscommunication was identified and dealt with.

 

Ditto.

[cire992]

I can't stand Malak (do I really need to explain why?) or the ending.

 

Malak came off as an idiot in KOTOR. He was a cookie-cutter schoolyard bully villain that sounded more like he belonged in some cheesy James Bond movie or children's cartoon show than an epic space opera. I was never afraid of him and I always had trouble believing that this impulsive halfwit was leading a massive invasion that was actually succeeding in conquering a galaxy full of apparently level-headed and competent people.

 

One of the weakest moments in Mass Effect for me was when you spoke with Sovereign on Virmire. He was basically Malak in the form of an Android. Here was an entity that was claiming to be completely beyond the realm of human comprehension and intellect, and yet he took the time and effort to basically harass Shepard, tell him all his plans and gloat about how great he was. Why would some trans-sentient, omniscient and all-powerful machine even bother to talk to the "rudimentary carbon based life-forms"? Seriously, the writers at Bioware really gotta put more effort into their Villains. Malak was annoying, but Sovereign was just plain flawed.

[Q]

It might not have make any sense (see above post) but it was just plain "phun".

Kind of like why we play games to begin with, right?

 

Take Baldur's Gate 2, for example. Now it would never win any awards (or at least it shouldn't ) for its writing (although it's probably Bioware's best effort), but to me it's so much fun that it makes up for it what it lacks in clever dialog and plot devices.

 

Oh, and has anyone else noticed that in Bioware games the worst dialog is reserved for the asinine PC responses that you're forced to choose from?

[Achilles]

Kind of like why we play games to begin with, right?

 

Sometimes.

 

Also, "fun" is relative is it not? What's fun for you might not be fun for me and vice versa.

[Master Shake]

and yet he took the time and effort to basically harass Shepard, tell him all his plans and gloat about how great he was. Why would some trans-sentient, omniscient and all-powerful machine even bother to talk to the "rudimentary carbon based life-forms"?

First thing they teach you at the aspiring villain academy.

 

Always reveal your plans in a last second speech that only leaves enough time for it to be stopped.

[SpaceAlex]

Oh, and has anyone else noticed that in Bioware games the worst dialog is reserved for the asinine PC responses that you're forced to choose from?

 

Definitely noticed that. In fact, I had to "fix" many of the PC responses with the DLG Editor (thanks tk) to be able to play through KotOR multiple times.

[cire992]

First thing they teach you at the aspiring villain academy.

 

Always reveal your plans in a last second speech that only leaves enough time for it to be stopped.

 

Yeah, I guess. Its just so irritating though, that sort of dialogue is so cliched that it breaks immersion.

[cire992]

EDIT: Lol, posted in the wrong thread.

 

On a related note, has anyone heard about that new comic book series?